Nightlife notes: A new vodka, plus Glam Doll and Oscar bashes

It wasn't exactly divine intervention that led Jon Bohlinger from a ministerial path to making the devil's brew. But we'll give the Big Guy an assist.

"I was a seminary student, which I really think suited me to learn how to drink," joked the founder of Gentleman Scholar Distillery, which launched its corn vodka last week.

Turns out the cloth wasn't the Columbia Heights native's calling. After earning an MBA and working in IT, Bohlinger decided to enter the liquor industry and partnered with childhood buddy-turned-lawyer Jesse Griffin and investor Kevin Burkhart, whom they met at an entrepreneurs event. The three alcohol-making amigos moved into a building with a Minneapolis street address, St. Paul ZIP code and a suite technically in Lauderdale.

"We're really, really in the heart of the Twin Cities," Bohlinger said of the spot at Hwy. 280 and Como Avenue SE.

Like Du Nord's Chris Montana, it was reading about the Surly bill — which chopped Minnesota's distillery license fee — that triggered Bohlinger's ethanol ambitions.

Bohlinger, the gents' lead distiller, is tinkering with gin recipes, and one day he'll do whiskey. But with a space not particularly conducive to a cocktail room, the scholars are scratching their heads on that front. Maybe Bohlinger could use some divine intervention after all.

Glam Doll Donuts celebrates two years in the glaze game with a Friday night party at its south Minneapolis shop. Get Cryphy DJ Last Word supplies the beats, while the cruller queens have teamed with Bittercube and Eat Street Social for six "Simpsons"-inspired doughnut and cocktail pairings. For those of age, a $10 wristband includes one drink-and-pastry combo, and a portion of the proceeds benefits Free Arts Minnesota.

Local beer geeks will soon have more reading material.

Launched as a six-issues-per-year publication in 2012, St. Paul-based craft beer lifestyle magazine the Growler is going monthly starting with its April issue. The freebie beer rag founded by the Beer Dabbler's Matt Kenevan can be found outside taprooms, beer bars and bottle shops in the Twin Cities area and Duluth.

If cheering for your favorite flick on your couch seems a tad unglamorous for Sunday's Academy Awards, try the Aegis Foundation's 22nd annual Oscar Experience. You'll always be a nobody. But for $50 you can attend this red-carpet affair 2,000 miles away from the actual event.

Tickets to the black-tie-optional party at the Marriott City Center include hors d'oeuvres, and very important people who spend an extra $100 get a three-course dinner and a swag bag.

Proceeds benefit the Twin Cities Film Fest and the Aegis Foundation.